That puts weight behind his argument that Europe must end the stereotypes of lazy Greeks and Nazi Germans.

Merkel heeded that spirit of togetherness when she said:

Although there are 80 million people living in Germany and we are the biggest economy in the European Union, this Europe is built on the principle that each country is equally important - no matter how many residents it has.

But, it’s not clear that any progress has actually been made towards unlocking bailout funds for Greece before it runs out of cash, perhaps in two weeks. Don’t despair, though, the leaders are sitting down to a working dinner now.

We’re unlikely to hear from Merkel and Tsipras again tonight, but I’ll keep this liveblog open in case there are developments....

In the meantime, thanks for reading and for all the comments... GW

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the end of their press conference. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The Greek reaction

Angela Merkel and Alexis Tsipras brief the media during their bilateral meeting at the chancellery. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

Greek politicians were quick to dismiss any sense that real progress had been made at today’s talks (reports Helena Smith from Athens).

Alexis Tsipras’ meeting with Angela Merkel may have been an ice-breaker and put relations between the two leaders on a firmer footing, but the Greek prime minister had failed to extract any promises from the German chancellor, or more importantly, funding to cover the looming credit crunch. “I hope I am wrong, but I don’t think the meeting went well,” said conservative MP and former health minister Andonis Georgiadis.

“Mrs Merkel, of course, couldn’t say I will give you money as that is the job of creditors but she could have said ‘I am much more optimistic after these talks’ and she didn’t.”

But the Greek media was clearly enthused that the German chancellor said Berlin would not “ignore” the issue of Nazi war reparations [even though she also said it is legally and politically resolved].

Many commentators described the move as a clear break with the past. Under a banner headline, Ta Nea quoted Merkel as saying:

“We want to collaborate in the best way and with mutual respect.”

Analysts, however, warned that the end game was now in sight for Greece. Either Athens’ leftist-led government moved ahead immediately with modernising reforms that would unlock international aid, or Athens would default “within weeks,” they said.

“The end game is coming, don’t be fooled by these niceties,” political science professor Dimitris Keridis told the Guardian.

“Not a single euro is being disbursed by Europe. In the next few weeks Greece will default unless it enacts reforms immediately.”